Out since Opening Day with a strained right shoulder, Brandon Webb has been throwing off flat ground for several weeks and is scheduled to take the next big step in what Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic calls “his long, long road to recovery” with a bullpen session Friday.

Webb said yesterday that his shoulder “has been pretty good” while he’s
avoided any setbacks. “I feel like this past week, the last three times
throwing, it’s been real good,” Webb said. “I think it just keeps
progressing. We’re moving in the right direction. It feels better than
it’s felt since the season started.”

Of course, Webb’s struggles actually extend back to last year, when
he went 3-3 with a 5.70 ERA in his final seven starts after beginning
the season 19-4 with a 2.74 ERA. As for when he’ll be ready to rejoin
the Diamondbacks’ rotation, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com writes:
“Mathematically it’s probably still possible for Webb to make it back
before the All-Star break, but it seems far more likely that it will
come sometime soon after.”

Playing without their injured ace since Opening Day, the
Diamondbacks have disappointed all season while posting the league’s
second-worst record at 27-38 to bring up the rear in the NL West.
Arizona is 16 games behind Los Angeles in the division and eight games
behind St. Louis in the Wild Card race, so even if Webb makes it back
at some point next month it may be too late.